I ’m often need how to get rid of squirrels , specially now that I ’ve written four Holy Scripture on gardening , plus createdtheSurvival Gardening Secretsaudiobook .
A recent conversation with a friendon Twitterbrought the squirrel issue back to the forefront :
I had a few suggestions there , but over the last few days I ’ve been remembering a lot of my favorite methods for getting rid of squirrels … and today ’s post is my natural endowment to those of you who hate the little tree rats .
I have n’t practiced all of these squirrel killing method , but if I had to choose between my garden and whacking a few rodents , I ’d belt rodent .
One year after planting a seam of rare heirloom clavus , Rachel caught a squirrel toil up and deplete the new shoots .
Squirrels will eat your squash and pumpkins , gnaw at and drop all your avocados , steal your peaches and persimmon and broadly speaking wreck whatever intellectual nourishment they can get their hand on .
A hawk patrolling my gardens
They ’re wantonly destructive , too .
Instead of just demand an entire yield , they ’ll bite pieces from 30 yield and leave them all to rot .
They must die . Here are a bunch of mode you could get rid of squirrels .
Trapping Squirrels
When I lived in Tennessee , I grease one’s palms a house in a quiet old neighborhood with lots of trees and places for squirrels to live .
Yet there were almost no squirrels . It was wild . I could n’t figure out why , until at some point I mentioned it to one of the neighbor .
“ Oh , they ’re all go because Mr. _ _ _ _ down the street was crazy about his gardens , so he dedicated a few years to pin down them all . ”
Dedicated population control works .
There are multiple ways to trap squirrels , both deathly and non - deadly .
TheHavahart trapworks well and I ’ve get squirrels in it before .
The problem is – what do you do with that squirrel once you ’ve get it ? A remorseless old homesteading dame of past would belike throw the whole trap in the Equus caballus trough to drown the hapless squirrel , but we mod fops find that horrifying .
unblock the squirrel and you may merely be prolonging his demise , however .
According to The Humane Society :
“ When the only other option is toss off we sometimes hold that relocation , which gives the uncivilized animal at least a chance , is satisfactory . Much calculate on the species involved , the time or year , the field into which move occurs and other constituent — too many to write a oecumenical prescription .
For exercise , relocating an opossum , an animal that tend to wander all its life and often has no ready home range ( and who carries her babies with her ) could be seen as more acceptable than relocate a squirrel in mid - wintertime . For the squirrel it is a end sentence since she would no longer have access to her food memory cache on which she exist the winter . ” ( seed )
So , kill ’em . KILL . THEM . ALL .
Here ’s another method acting of trap squirrel that ’s complete for psychopaths .
PVC , a bucketful , some goober pea butter … very inventive .
Here ’s an even easier style to rap down the squirrel population rapidly : informer trap .
Nail scum bag immobilise to your fencing posts and bait them with goober butter . The squirrel WILL go for it . If you put out 5 - 10 trap , you may nail a lot of squirrels apace .
These Victor trapswork nicely .
Yes , it ’s mean . Look – if you ’re going to kvetch about it , why are you still reading ? Did n’t you see my initiation warning ?
Shooting Squirrels
I used to have an auntie who make up one’s mind to go all Rambo against the squirrels in her attic .
She went up there with a .22 and waited for a squirrel to show its boldness … then she ’d fool away it .
Not recommend , but quite understandable .
A hawk patrolling my gardens
Squirrels have a way of making one go frantic and needing , on a visceral floor , to kill .
I ’ve boom squirrels with a BB gun , with a shot gun for hire , with a sling and with a scattergun .
In the city , you ’re limited to BB guns or pellet gun for hire , and even then you need to be heedful you do n’t get reported by nosey neighbour .
“What? Squirrel for dinner? Yes, please!”
This rifle is a good choice :
That’sthe Ruger Blackhawk plunger - driven .177 . It pip shot at 1000 fps . That ’ll perforate through a lot . The only affair about that gun is that you need to dash good pellets for truth . Mine did n’t care the cheapo pellets .
Still a raft cheaper than a real gun , plus it ’s legal to buy right off Amazon .
If you do n’t have clock time to shoot the squirrel yourself , have one of your sons do it for you . Good time .
If you live in the rural area , I’dget a Ruger 10/22 , or , if you live further out in the country , just get a shotgun so you do n’t need to be as accurate .
Now , here ’s a good mind for getting free of squirrels by shoot them : jell up a squirrel feeder in your yard . Just an upright log with some peanut or corn kernels on it is hunky-dory . Keep replenishing that spot with food and the squirrels will show up again and again .
grade the feeder in a good location so you may attack with your gun . Every morning you should be capable to nail at least one .
Using Nature To Get Rid of Squirrels
A hawk patrolling my gardens
The intellect monocultures often do n’t wreak well is because they ’re an unbalanced ecosystem .
Squirrels become a dominant species in suburbia because the apex predatory animal are normally go . homeowner remove all in trees that could house hawks and bird of night , pour down snakes , and keep their lawns tidy so predators do n’t have any hiding places .
They also feed the squirrels with feeders , whether intended for squirrels or fowl .
This selects for hordes of squirrels and does n’t allow the ecosystem to sort itself out .
suburb is squirrel paradise .
However , you’re able to run into back by providing places for bird of night , Snake , hawks and other predators . Yeah , your neighbor might not like it , but I have found thatmy metal money - dumb food foresthas few trouble with squirrel . They ’ll overcharge a peach tree now and then , but they also get killed by snake and snatch up up by predatory birds . Hawks in particular are a slap-up fashion to get rid of squirrel . Getting them to show up in suburbia is n’t easy , though . You ’ll probably have good luck attract rat snakes ( who will happily wipe out squirrel babies ) .
Uses For Squirrels
Now since I ’m not a fan of just kill without getting some extra employment from my putting to death , let ’s calculate at a few uses for the squirrels you knock out .
Eating Squirrels
First of all , you’re able to eat on them .
I find that squirrels are n’t all that keen roast without flavoring , but they do make good curries . Skinning a squirrel is passably easy when you do it right .
Here ’s how to skin a squirrel in one min :
I ’ve done that and it works .
Squirrels may also be a life - saving food if the entire grid collapses , so before you wipe out the total universe , you might want to think about gardening for squirrel meat alternatively of vegetable . What if you evoke the population to horrifying levels by feeding them , then started culling meat for the deep freezer . Just a thought .
Turning Squirrels Into Eggs
“ What ? Squirrel for dinner ? Yes , please ! ”
Here ’s another good use for deadened squirrels : chicken feed .
One of the limiting factors when raising chickens is getting your razzing enough protein . I ’ve killed and chopped up squirrels for the razzing and they ’re very happy to eat ’em up .
Most hoi polloi do n’t realize that chickens will eat almost anything – including other chicken . Feed them squirrels and they ’ll call on the squirrel into bollock . Good trade .
Composting Squirrels
In my bookCompost Everything : The Good Guide to Extreme CompostingI share one of my preferent compost method : making melon pits . That ’s essentially just a method acting of burying waste that would n’t work on a regular compost pile , then plant on top of it .
Squirrel army corps contain a lot of potential victuals for your garden , plus using them to fertilise it has a certain satisfying isotropy . Get free of squirrels that are eating your garden by turning them into food FOR your garden . Perfect .
Conclusion
Squirrel infestations will take some metre and ingenuity to trounce , but they can be puzzle .
If you really desire to be a pacificist and leave the squirrel alone , I recommend stick to the option of construct a high - ending ecosystem and hoping vulture will return . Alternately , you could just surround in your intact gardening plot , top to bottom , with wire so the squirrel ca n’t get in .
Many of you do n’t have that kind of time or money so kill squirrels may be the only way to go .
Nature is red in tooth and claw . If you do n’t have predators , you have to be the predator .
Unless you need to see your fruits and veggie vanish into the prehensile slight mouths of tree rats .
